Teachers And Pupils

Πρέπει μέν που καὶ πατράσι παίδων ἰδίων πρόνοια καὶ γεωργοῖς φυτῶν ἢ σπερμάτων ἐπιμέλεια, καὶ διδασκάλοις μαθητῶν φροντίς, μάλιστα ὅταν δἰ εὐφυΐαν βελτίους ἐφ̓ ἑαυτοῖς ὑποφαίνουσι τὰς ἐλπίδας. χαίρει γὰρ πονῶν καὶ γεωργός, ἁδρυνομένων αὐτῷ τῶν ἀσταχύων ἢ τῶν φυτῶν αὐξανομένων, εὐφραίνουσι δὲ καὶ μαθηταὶ διδασκάλους, καὶ παῖδες πατέρας, οἱ μὲν πρὸς ἀρετήν, οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὔξησιν ἐπιδιδόντες. ἡμεῖς δὲ τοσοῦτον μείζονα μὲν ἐφ̓ ὑμῖν ἔχομεν τὴν φροντίδα, κρείττονα δὲ τὴν ἐλπίδα, ὅσον εὐσέβεια πάσης μὲν τέχνης, πάντων δὲ ζώων ὁμοῦ καὶ καρπῶν ἐστιν ἀμείνων, ἣν ἐν ἁπαλαῖς ἔτι καὶ καθαραῖς ταῖς ὑμετέραις ψυχαῖς ῥιζωθεῖσαν ὑφ̓ ἡμῶν καὶ τραφεῖσαν ἰδεῖν εὐχόμεθα καὶ προελθοῦσαν εἰς ἀκμὴν τελείαν καὶ εἰς καρποὺς ὡραίους, συλλαμβανομένης ἡμῶν ταῖς εὐχαῖς τῆς ὑμετέρας φιλομαθείας. Eὖ γὰρ ἴστε καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν εἰς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργίαν ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἐναποκεῖσθαι γνώμαις, ὧν πρὸς τὸ δέον εὐθυνομένων, Θεὸς συνεργὸς καλούμενος παρέσται καὶ ἄκλητος, καὶ πᾶς φιλόθεος ἄνθρωπος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν αὐτεπάγγελτος. ἀνίκητος γὰρ ἡ προθυμία τῶν διδάσκειν τι χρήσιμον δυναμένων, ὅταν αἱ τῶν μανθανόντων ψυχαὶ πάσης καθαρεύωσιν ἀντιτυπίας. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ σώματος κωλύει χωρισμός, τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος ἡμᾶς δἰ ὑπερβολὴν σοφίας καὶ φιλανθρωπίας μὴ συμπεριορίσαντος τοῖς σώμασι τὴν διάνοιαν, μήτε μὴν τῇ γλώττῃ τῶν λόγων τὴν δύναμιν, δόντος δέ τι πλεῖον καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου τοῖς ὠφελεῖν δυναμένοις, ὡς μὴ μόνον τοῖς μακρὰν διεστηκόσιν, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τοῖς λίαν ὀψιγόνοις παραπέμπειν δύνασθαι τὴν διδασκαλίαν. καὶ τοῦτον ἡμῖν ἡ πεῖρα πιστοῦται τὸν λόγον, ἐπείπερ οἵ τε πολλοῖς πρότερον ἔτεσι γενόμενοι διδάσκουσι τοὺς νέους, σωζομένης ἐν γράμμασι τῆς διδασκαλίας: ἡμεῖς τε κεχωρισμένοι τοσοῦτον τοῖς σώμασι, τῇ διανοίᾳ σύνεσμεν ἀεί, καὶ προσομιλοῦμεν ῥᾳδίως, τῆς διδασκαλίας οὔτε ὑπὸ γῆς οὔτε θαλάσσης κωλυομένης, εἴ τίς ἐστιν ὑμῖν τῶν ἰδίων ψυχῶν φροντίς. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολή ΣϞΔ' Φήστῳ καὶ Μάγνῳ Source: Migne PG 32.1036c-1037b

It is a father's obligation to look to make provision for his offspring, just as it is a farmer's to nurture his plants and crops, and a teacher's to have care for his pupils, especially when an inborn goodness has revealed good hopes concerning them. The farmer finds has joy in his labours when the ears ripen or the plants increase, the teacher is gladdened at his pupils' growth in virtue, and likewise the father at his son's. But so much greater is the care I have for you and the better the hopes, as much as holiness is greater and better than all the arts, and all animals and harvests, which piety I planted in your hearts while they were yet pure and tender, and I cared for them in the hope of maturity and the bearing of fruits in due season, and my prayers were realised by your love of learning. You know well that you have my good wishes and that God's favour waits on your endeavours, for when we are rightly directed, called or uncalled, God is near to advance them. Every man who loves God is inclined to teaching, and indeed when there is the ability to teach things beneficial he has an eagerness that is almost ungovernable, when the souls of those who will learn have been cleansed of all impediments. It is not bodily separation that is a hindrance, for the Creator, in the fullness of wisdom and love for men, did not restrict our minds to our bodies, nor the power of speech to our tongues, and the ability to be of benefit draws an advantage even from the passing time, and thus we are able to instruct not only those who dwell far away but even those who have yet to be born, and let experience prove it to you, for those who lived many years before us still teach posterity by the instruction preserved in their writings. So we, though so far separated in the body, are always near in our minds and converse with ease; teaching is not restricted by sea or land, if a man has care for souls. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from Letter 294, To Festus And Magnus

Ways And Paths

Perfice gressus meos in semitis tuis, ut non moveantur vestigia mea. Viae Dei sunt praecepta levia. Semitae Dei sunt strictiora mandata, in quibus pauci ambulare possunt. In via Dei ambulat qui proximo suo malum non facit. In semitia Dei ambulat qui etiam malum inferentem diligit. Qui vero adhuc ambulare nescit in semita, saepe movetur a via, quia saepe charitatem deserere cogitur qui non didicit adhuc diligere, nisi eum a quo amatur. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber II, Caput XX, De Viis et Semitis Dei Source: Migne PL 177.599c-d

Perfect my walking in your paths, so that my feet do not stumble. 1 The ways of God are the lighter precepts, the paths of God are the stricter commands in which few are able to walk. He walks in the way of God who does no evil to his neighbour. He walks in the path of God who loves him who does him evil. However, he who does not yet know what it is to walk in the path, often stumbles on the way, since  he is often driven to abandon love because he has not yet learnt how to love anyone unless they love him. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 2, Chapter 20, On the Ways and Paths of God 1 Ps 16.5

Seeking And Preserving

Συνεξάπτει δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τὸ ζώπυρον τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ συντείνει τὸ οἰκεῖον ὄμμα πρὸς θεωρίαν, τάχα μέν τι καὶ ἐντιθεῖσα, οἷον ὁ ἐγκεντρίζων γεωργός, τὸ δὲ ἐνυπάρχον ἀνακινοῦσα. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ἀπόστολον, ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ἄρρωστοι, καὶ κοιμῶνται ἱκανοί. Eἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκρινόμεθα. Ἤδη δὲ οὐ γραφὴ εἰς ἐπίδειξιν τετεχνασμένη ἥδε ἡ πραγματεία, ἀλλά μοι ὑπομνήματα εἰς γῆρας θησαυρίζεται, λήθης φάρμακον, εἴδωλον ἀτεχνῶς καὶ σκιαγραφία τῶν ἐναργῶν καὶ ἐμψύχων ἐκείνων, ὧν κατηξιώθην ἐπακοῦσαι, λόγων τε καὶ ἀνδρῶν μακαρίων καὶ τῷ ὄντι ἀξιολόγων. Tούτων ὃ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ὁ Ἰωνικός, οἳ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς Μεγάλης Ἑλλάδος, τῆς κοίλης θάτερος αὐτῶν Συρίας ἦν, ὃ δὲ ἀπ' Αἰγύπτου, ἄλλοι δὲ ἀνὰ τὴν ἀνατολήν· καὶ ταύτης ὃ μὲν τῆς τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, ὃ δὲ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Ἑβραῖος ἀνέκαθεν· ὑστάτῳ δὲ περιτυχὼν, δυνάμει δὲ οὗτος πρῶτος ἦν, ἀνεπαυσάμην, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ θηράσας λεληθότα. Σικελικὴ τῷ ὄντι ἦν μέλιττα προφητικοῦ τε καὶ ἀποστολικοῦ λειμῶνος τὰ ἄνθη δρεπόμενος ἀκήρατόν τι γνώσεως χρῆμα ταῖς τῶν ἀκροωμένων ἐνεγέννησε ψυχαῖς. Ἀλλ' οἳ μὲν τὴν ἀληθῆ τῆς μακαρίας σῴζοντες διδασκαλίας παράδοσιν εὐθὺς ἀπὸ Πέτρου τε καὶ Ἰακώβου Ἰωάννου τε καὶ Παύλου τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεχόμενος, ὀλίγοι δὲ οἱ πατράσιν ὅμοι, ἧκον δὴ σὺν θεῷ καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς τὰ προγονικὰ ἐκεῖνα καὶ ἀποστολικὰ καταθησόμενοι σπέρματα. Kαὶ εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι ἀγαλλιάσονται, οὐχὶ τῇ ἐκφράσει ἡσθέντες λέγω τῇδε, μόνῃ δὲ τῇ κατὰ τὴν ὑποσημείωσιν τηρήσει. Ποθούσης γὰρ οἶμαι ψυχῆς τὴν μακαρίαν παράδοσιν ἀδιάδραστον φυλάττειν ἡ τοιάδε ὑποτύπωσις· ἀνδρὸς δὲ φιλοῦντος σοφίαν εὐφρανθήσεται πατήρ. Tὰ φρέατα ἐξαντλούμενα διειδέστερον ὕδωρ ἀναδίδωσι, τρέπεται δὲ εἰς φθορὰν ὧν μεταλαμβάνει οὐδείς. Kαὶ τὸν σίδηρον ἡ χρῆσις καθαρώτερον φυλάσσει, ἡ δὲ ἀχρηστία ἰοῦ τούτῳ γεννητική. Συνελόντι γὰρ φάναι ἡ συγγυμνασία ἕξιν ἐμποιεῖ ὑγιεινὴν καὶ πνεύμασι καὶ σώμασιν. Oὐδεὶς ἅπτει λύχνον καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον τίθησιν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς λυχνίας φαίνειν τοῖς τῆς ἑστιάσεως τῆς αὐτῆς κατηξιωμένοις. τί γὰρ ὄφελος σοφίας μὴ σοφιζούσης τὸν οἷόν τε ἐπαΐειν; ἔτι τε καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ σῴζει αἰεὶ καὶ αἰεὶ ἐργάζεται, ὡς βλέπει τὸν πατέρα. Διδάσκων τις μανθάνει πλεῖον καὶ λέγων συνακροᾶται πολλάκις τοῖς ἐπακούουσιν αὐτοῦ· εἷς γὰρ ὁ διδάσκαλος καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος καὶ τοῦ ἀκροωμένου, ὁ ἐπιπηγάζων καὶ τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὸν λόγον, ᾗ καὶ οὐ κεκώλυκεν ὁ Kύριος ἀπὸ ἀγαθοῦ σαββατίζειν, μεταδιδόναι δὲ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου τοῦ ἁγίου τοῖς χωρεῖν δυναμένοις συγκεχώρηκεν. Αὐτίκα οὐ πολλοῖς ἀπεκάλυψεν ἃ μὴ πολλῶν ἦν, ὀλίγοις δέ, οἷς προσήκειν ἠπίστατο, τοῖς οἵοις τε ἐκδέξασθαι καὶ τυπωθῆναι πρὸς αὐτά· τὰ δὲ ἀπόρρητα, καθάπερ ὁ θεός, λόγῳ πιστεύεται, οὐ γράμματι. Kἄν τις λέγῃ γεγράφθαι οὐδὲν κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ φανερωθήσεται, οὐδὲ κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, ἀκουσάτω καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν, ὅτι τῷ κρυπτῶς ἐπαίοντι τὸ κρυπτὸν φανερωθήσεσθαι διὰ τοῦδε προεθέσπισεν τοῦ λογίου, καὶ τῷ παρακεκαλυμμένως τὰ παραδιδόμενα οἵῳ τε παραλαμβάνειν δηλωθήσεται τὸ κεκαλυμμένον ὡς ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς κρυπτόν, τοῦτο τοῖς ὀλίγοις φανερὸν γενήσεται· ἐπεὶ διὰ τί μὴ πάντες ἴσασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν; διὰ τί δὲ μὴ ἠγαπήθη ἡ δικαιοσύνη, εἰ πάντων ἡ δικαιοσύνη; ἀλλὰ γὰρ τὰ μυστήρια μυστικῶς παραδίδοται, ἵνα ᾖ ἐν στόματι λαλοῦντος καὶ ᾧ λαλεῖται, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἐν φωνῇ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ νοεῖσθαι. Δέδωκεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς, τοὺς δὲ ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λογος A’, Κεφ' A’ Source: Migne PG 9.697a-701c

Scripture kindles the living spark of the soul and directs the eye suitably for contemplation, perhaps inserting something, as the farmer who ingrafts, but even exciting what is there. 'For there are many among us,' according to the holy Apostle, 'who are weak and sickly, and many sleep. But if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged.' 1 Now this work of writing is not composed for display, but as my memoranda stored up against old age, as a remedy against forgetfulness, and truly as an image and outline of those vigorous and animated discourses which I was privileged to hear from blessed and truly remarkable men. Of these there was one in Greece, an Ionian, another in Magna Graecia, and the first of these was from Coele-Syria and the second from Egypt, and there were others in the East, one who was born in Assyria, and the other was a Jew of Palestine. When I came upon this last one, who was the first in ability, having tracked him down concealed in Egypt, I found rest. He was the true Sicilian bee, gathering the spoil of the flowers of the prophetic and Apostolic meadow, who engendered in the souls of his hearers a certain pure element of knowledge. For preserving the tradition of the blessed teaching derived directly from the holy Apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, the sons receiving it from the father, but few are like the fathers, they came by God's will to us also, to deposit those ancestral and Apostolic seeds. And well I know that they will exult in this, not that they will be delighted with this tribute, but solely on account of the preservation of the truth as they delivered it. For I think such a sketch as this will please a soul that desires the preservation of the blessed tradition. 'A man who loves wisdom will make a father glad.' 2 When wells are pumped out they yield purer water, and one which no one uses putrefies. Use keeps steel brighter, but disuse produces rust in it. In a word, exercise produces a healthy condition both in souls and bodies. 'No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, but on a stand, so that it may shine on those who are regarded worthy of the feast.' 3 For what is the use of wisdom if it does not make him who can hear it wise? For still the Saviour saves, 'and always works, as He sees the Father.' 4 By teaching one learns more, and in speaking one is often a hearer along with the audience. For the teacher of him who speaks and of him who hears is one who waters both the mind and the word. Thus the Lord did not prohibit us from doing good while keeping the Sabbath, but allowed us to communicate Divine mysteries and holy light to those who are able to receive them. He did not disclose to the many what did not belong to the many, but to the few to whom He knew that they belonged and were capable of receiving and being shaped according to what was given. But secret things are entrusted to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And if someone will say that it is written, 'There is nothing secret which shall not be revealed, nor hidden which shall not be disclosed,' 5 let him hear from us that what was predicted by this passage is that to him who hears secretly even what is secret shall be made manifest, and to him who conceals what is delivered to him that which is veiled shall be disclosed as truth, and what is a secret to many shall appear manifest to the few. For why do not all know the truth? Why is not righteousness loved, if righteousness belongs to all? But the mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth and in him who speaks rather than in the voice. 'God gave to the Church some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the holy, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.' 6 Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 1 Cor 11.30 2 Prov 29.3 3 Mt 5.15 4 Jn 5.19 5 Lk 8.17 6 Ephes 4.11-12

On Not Returning Evil for Evil

Ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς, λέγων· Τί ἐστι, Μή ἀποδώσεις κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ γέρων· Τὸ πάθος τοῦτο τέσσαρας ἔχει τρόπους· πρῶτον ἀπὸ καρδίας, δεύτερον ἀπὸ ὄψεως, τρίτον γλώσσης, τέταρτόν έστι, τὸ μὴ ποιῆσαι κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ. Ἐὰν δύνασαι καθαρίσαι τὴν καρδίαν σου, οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν ὄψιν· ἐὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ εἰς τὴν ὄψιν, φυλάττου τὸ μὴ λαλεῖν· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ λαλήσῃς, ταχὺ κόψον τοῦ μὴ μοιῆσαι κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ. Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.332a-b

Another brother questioned Father Poimen, saying, 'What is it not to return evil for evil?' 1 The elder said, 'This passion has four stages, first from the heart, second from appearance, third from the tongue, fourth from the act of not returning evil for evil. If you can keep your heart pure it will not come to appearance, if it comes to appearance, guard against speaking, if you speak, quickly stop yourself less you return evil for evil.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 1 Thess. 5.15

The Leper And The Crowd

Cum descendisset Jesus de monte, etc. Coelum mons est, terra vallis. Deus mons est, homo vallis; Forma Dei mons est, et forma servi vallis. Cum ergo descendisset de coelo in terram Deus in forma Dei, exinanitus est in formam servi, et habitu inventus ut homo. Sequi eum jam non poterant turbae, quae eum exspectabant: quae sine ipso quo vadit ipse, ire non poterant. Quo tamen eos ducit? Primum quidem ad sanandum leprosum, quod fortassis ipsi erant, et nesciebant. Prima aegroti incommoditas est sanitatem non habere; secunda, infirmitatem nescire; tertia medicanate non querere; quarta, oblatam negligere. Ideo sapiens medicus, et benignus Deus eo ducit, ubi docet, ubi occurrat vir videns infirmitatem suam, ac ob hoc quierens sanitatem, confitens potestatem, deprecans voluntatem, quatenus ex eo quod foris turba conspicit, erudiatur, et videntem infirmum infirmior caecus sequatur. Dicit Aposto!us: Abrahae factas promissiones, et semini ejus; ideo et Christum ministrum fuisse circamcisionis propler veritatem Dei, ad confirmandas promissiones Patrum; gentes autem super misericordiam honorare Deum. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, In Dominica III Post Epiphaniam I Source: Migne PL 194.1726d-1727a

'When Jesus had come down from the mountain...' 1 Heaven is the mountain, the earth is the valley. God is the mountain, man is the valley. The form of God is the mountain, the form of a slave is the valley. When therefore God in the form of God came down to earth, He emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave, and was found in the likeness of a man. 2 The crowds which expected Him were not able to follow Him, for without Him they were not able to go where He goes. But where does He lead them? First to the healing of the leper, because perhaps they were also sick and did not know it. Firstly it is wretched to be sick and lack health, secondly to not know one's own disorder, thirdly not to seek healing, fourthly to neglect something offered. Therefore God the wise and benevolent physician leads the crowd to a place where it might learn, to a place where it comes on a man who knows his infirmity, and because of this is seeking healing, confessing power, and entreating good will. As far as the crowd looked on these exterior things, it was to learn, even that after the sick man who sees comes the more wretched blind one. The Apostle says, 'Promises were made to Abraham and his seed, therefore Christ was to serve the circumcised because of God's truth, for the confirmation of the promises to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles honour God for His mercy.' 3 Isaac of Stella, from a Sermon on the Third Sunday after the Epiphany 1 Mt 8.1 2 Phil 2.6-7 3 Galat 3.16, Rom 15.8-9

Questions And Deeds

Quis est autem iste... Tam magnus, de quo ego talia audio? Quaerit philosophari, et esse bonus. Non est enim quaerendum quis erat, sed cum Nathanaele accedendum et experiendum, ut sic sequeretur vestigia ipsius. Psal xxxiii: Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini: et facies vestrae non confundentur. Sed iste in sola ratione inquisitionis stare voluit, et non exercere opera, simile quid faciens istis, de quibus dicit Aristoteles in libro IV Ethicorum: Ad rationem confugientes, quaerunt philosophari et esse boni. Simile aliquid faciens infirmis, qui medicos quidem audiunt studiose, faciunt autem operandorum nihil. Et quemadmodum isti numquam bene habebunt corpus sic curati, ita nec illi bene habebunt animam sic philosophantes. Quid enim valet bona audire, et non facere? Jacob i: Qui auditor est verbi el non factor, comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo; consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit. Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Lucam, Caput IX Source: Here p616

'Who is this...' 1 Is He so great 'concerning whom I hear such things?' he asks for his philosophising and to be good. But it must not be asked who He was, but with Nathanael one must draw near and one must experience 2 if one would follow in His way. In the thirty third Psalm, 'Come to Him and be enlightened and your faces shall not be confounded.' 3 But Herod who wished only to stand in the reason of questioning and not to exert himself in works is like the one of whom Aristotle speaks in the fourth book of his Ethics, 'Flying to reason they seek to philosophise and be good.' 4 He is similar to a sick man who carefully listens to physicians and then does nothing of what is prescribed. And as they will never have a body that is healthy, so they who philosophise in such a way shall never have a healthy soul. What good does it do to listen and not act? In the first chapter of the letter of James, 'He who hears the Word and does not do it shall be like a man who considers his own face in a mirror, and having considered it he goes away and instantly forgets what sort of man he was.' 5 Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.9 2 Jn 1.45-51 3 Ps 33.6 4 Aris Nic Eth 1105b 10-18 5 James 1.23-24

Desiring A Teacher

Doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia tu es Deus meus. Nolebat prorsus errare qui tanti magistri cupiebat esse discipulus. Dicit enim: Doce me, tanquam ignarum tanquam imperitum, tanquam nihil de sua virtute praesumentem. Quem sensum Apostolus ponit cum dicit: Si quis existimat se scire aliquid, necdum cognovi quemadmdum eu operteat scire. Addidit, quia tu es Deus meus. Fide petitio, competens ratio, a clemente Domino ideo postulare benficium, eo quod ipse sit Dominus supplicantis. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus CXLII Source: Migne PL 70.1013b

Teach me to do your will, because you are my God. 1 He wished not to err who desired to be the pupil of such a great teacher. For he says, 'Teach me,' as one who is ignorant and inexperienced and who presumes nothing of his own ability. Which sense the Apostle takes note of when he says, 'If someone judges himself to be something, he does not yet know as it is needful to know.' 2 Then here he adds, 'Because you are my God,' A faithful petition, a reasonable enquiry, asking for something of benefit from the mercy of the Lord, because he is the Lord of those who supplicate Him. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 142 1 Ps 142.11 2 1 Cor 8.2

Teaching And Vice

Qui desperantes semetipsos tradiderunt impudicitiae, in opertionem omnis immunditae et avartiae... De gentibus loquitur, quibus caecatum cor est, et nihil sperant, id est mortales se et fatentur et probant; neque de aeternitate sua aliquid credunt: ac propterea vitam mundi, quasi ea frui volentes, et rapiunt, et libidinose vivunt, et cum impudicitia exercentes, ut credunt, voluptatem habendi cupidi, et in usu vivendi ducti omnibus turpissimis voluptatibus. Vos autem non ita didicistis Christum; si tamen audistis illum et in illo credidistis. Contra Ephesios docet non ita vivere ut gentes: quippe qui didicerint Christum: quia Christus ut immortales nos faceret, egit mysterium, praesto in carne fuit, docui ut cognosceremus patrem, et in ipsum fidem haberemus, et est aeternitas nobis viventibus secundum ejus mandata. Vos igitur non ita didicistis, ut gentes: quippe quia vos Christum audistis, si tamen audistis illum, id est intellexistis et credidistis. Hoc est enim quod adjunxit, qui in illum credidistis: quia, ut diximus et dicimus semper, credere in Christum, immortalitem consequi est, et vitam aeternam mereri; ipse enim est vita, ipse lux, ipse aeternitas, ipse qui mortem vincit et vicit, et nobis vicit, per mysterium quod implevit. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Secundus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1277b-c

Who despairing of themselves have given themselves over to shamelessness, to the doing of every vile thing, and avarice... 1 He speaks of the Gentiles, whose hearts are blind, and who hope for nothing, for they confess themselves to be mortal and act on it, believing nothing of eternal things, and thus they seize on the world's life as something to be enjoyed, and they live lustfully and exert themselves in shamelessness, so that, as they think, they will have the joy of their desires, and by such a way of life they have been led away into every sort of vile pleasure. You did not learn this from Christ, if indeed you have listened to Him and believed in Him... Opposing the Ephesians, he teaches that they should not live like the Gentiles, certainly if they have learnt from Christ, because Christ, so that He might make us immortal, worked a mystery, coming forth in the flesh and teaching so that we might come to know the Father and have faith in Him, and it is eternity for us to live according to His commands. You, therefore, did not have the learning of the Gentiles, but certainly you listened to Christ, if indeed 'you listened to Him,' that is, if you understood and believed. For this is what he adds, you who 'believed in Him,' so that as we have said, and as we shall always say, to believe in Christ achieves immortality, and it merits eternal life, for He is the life and the light and eternity, He is the one who conquers death and conquered it, and conquered for us, through the mystery which He fulfilled. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book Two, Chapter Four 1 Ephes 4.19

Care And Correction

Quod si emendare neglegis cum videas emendandum, adversus caritatem facis: si autem tibi emendandus propterea non videtur, quia putas eum recte ista sensisse; adversus veritatem sapis. Et ideo ille melior, qui emendari est paratior, si non defuerit emendator, quam tu, si vel sciens irridenter contemnis errantem, vel nesciens pariter sectaris errorem. Omnia itaque in eisdem libris ad te scriptis et tibi traditis sobrie vigilanterque considera, et plura quam ego invenies fortasse culpanda. Et quaecumque ibi sunt approbanda atque laudanda, si quid in eis revera forsitan ignorabas, atque isto disserente didicisti, evidenter profitere quid illud sit; ut de hoc te gratias egisse, non de his quae illic improbanda tam multa sunt, omnes noverint, qui vel recitante illo tecum simul audierunt, vel eosdem postea libros legerunt: ne in eius ornato eloquio tamquam in pretioso poculo te invitante, etsi non bibente, venenum bibant, si tu quid inde biberis, et quid non biberis nesciunt, et propter laudem tuam omnia illic bibenda salubriter arbitrantur. Quamvis et audire, et legere, et quae dicta sunt haurire memoria, quid est nisi bibere? Sed praedixit Dominus de fidelibus suis, quod et si mortiferum quid biberint, non eis nocebit. Ac per hoc qui cum iudicio legunt, et secundum regulam fidei approbanda approbant, et improbant improbanda; etiamsi commendant memoriae quae improbanda dicuntur, nulla venenata sententiarum pravitate laeduntur. Haec me Gravitatem et Religionem tuam, sive mutua, sive praevia caritate monuisse vel commonuisse minime poenitebit, Domino miserante, quomodolibet accipias, quod tibi praerogandum putavi. Agam vero ei uberes gratias, de cuius misericordia saluberrimum est fidere, si ab his pravitatibus et erroribus, quos ex libris huius hominis ostendere his litteris potui, alienam atque integram fidem tuam, vel invenerit epistola ista, vel fecerit. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Anima et eius Origine, Liber II, Caput XXIII Source: Migne PL 44.510

If you neglect to correct another when you see something that requires amendment, you act in opposition to love, but if it does not appear to you that another requires correction because you think that he is right in his understanding, you are wise against the truth. And thus he is a better man than you who is prepared to be corrected if a corrector is not lacking, if either aware that he errs you scorn him in derision, or being ignorant you also follow after the error. Therefore with sobriety and vigilance consider everything in the books another addressed and sent to you, and you will perhaps find more things there that are flawed than I have. And as for whatever is approvable and praiseworthy, if perhaps by his instruction you have learnt something in them that you did not know, openly declare what it is, so that all may know it was for this you thanked him and it was not for the many things which are worthy of reproof, things which many heard spoken at the time, or later read in the same books, lest because of his ornate style it be as if they drink poison from a precious goblet which you offer to them, even if you do not partake, those who do not know if you have tasted it or not, but because of your good character judge that they shall be drinking for the good of their health. Hearing and reading and drawing things once said from the memory, what are they but drinking? But the Lord foretold to his faithful ones that even if they drank something fatal it would not harm them. 1 Because of this, they who read with discernment and according to the rule of faith give their approval to what is approvable and disapprove of what is not, and even if they commit to memory what is not approved, they suffer no harm from the depraved poison of such things. That I have given your earnest and pious self warning and counsel because of our mutual and long standing love, which I have thought to be my first duty to you, by the Lord's mercy I shall not regret however you should receive it. But I shall give abundant thanks to Him in whose mercy it is most salutary to trust, if from these depravities and errors which I have been able to show in this man's books, this letter finds your faith far distant and unharmed by them, or it makes it so. Saint Augustine of Hippo, On the Soul and its Origin Book 2, Chapter 23 1 Mk 16.18

Attention And Reward

Υἱέ ἐμῇ ῥήσει πρόσεχε τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς λόγοις παράβαλε σὸν οὖς. Ὅπως μὴ ἐκλίπωσίν σε αἱ πηγαί σου φύλασσε αὐτὰς ἐν σῇ καρδίᾳ, ζωὴ γάρ ἐστιν τοῖς εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὰς καὶ πάσῃ σαρκὶ ἴασις Καθάπερ νηπίῳ τινὶ παιδίῳ ἔπαθλα ἀεὶ ταῖς προσοχαῖς τίθησι, αὶ διεγείρει ἔξω που διεπτσημενον. Πηγαὶ δὲ ζωῆς, αἱ ἀρεταὶ, ἀφ' ὦν τὸ ζῶν ὕδωρ, ἡ γνῶσις ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τῷ κατὰ σοφίαν προκόπτοντι, πολλαὶ πηγαὶ, καὶ οὐ μία γίνεται· ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀρετῶν. Τοῖς τὰς παραινέσεις, φησὶ, φυλάττουσι ταύτας, ζωὴ γίνονται· αὖται τὸ ἆθλον. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Παροιμιας, Κεφ' Δ’ Source: Migne PG 39.1628b

Attend to my words, O son, and incline your ear to my speech. Guard the founts in your heart that they not fail, for they are life to all who find them and the health of every flesh. 1 Just as a mindless boy may have his attention drawn by some reward and it may raise him up from where he has fallen. The founts of life are the virtues from where flows the water of life, which is the knowledge of Christ. According to advancing wisdom there are many founts not one, for they are as the number of the virtues. Those who observe these counsels, he says, they shall live, which is the reward Didymus the Blind, On Proverbs, Chapter 4 1 Prov 4.20-22 LXX

Nothing More

His amplius etc. Hic tertio reprimitur curiositas auditorum, quos alioquitur sub persona filii dicens: His amplius , fili mi, ne requiras, ut semper velis audire nova; sufficit enim scire necessaria; Ecclesiastici tertio: Quae praecepit tibi Deus, illa cogita semper, et in pluribus operibus eius ne fueris curiosus. Et redditur ratio duplex huius admonitionis, quia inquisitio huius curiositatis est interminata et laboriosa. Est interminata; ideo dicit: Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis; quia curiosi nunquam tot habent, quin velint audire plures, quia nunquam volunt audire vetera, sed semper nova; unde Actuum decimo septimo: Athenienses ad nihil aliud vacabant, nisi aut dicere, aut audire aliquid novi. Ideo dicitur Danielis duodecimo: Pertransibunt plurima tempora, et multiplex erit scientia, eo quod scientia semper quodam modo renovatur. Non tantum est interminata, sed etiam laboriosa curiosa inquisitio; ideo subdit: Frequensque meditatio carnis est afflictio; Ecclesiastici trigesimo primo: Vigilia honestatis tabefaciet carnem. Est, inquam, afllictio magna, et e contrario utilitas modica, secundum quod dictum est supra octavo: Est homo, qui diebus et noctibus non capit somnum oculus. Et intellexi, quod operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Cap XII Source: Here, p 98

Anything more than these... 1 Here he restrains the curiosity of those who hear, speaking to them under the person of a son, saying, 'Anything more than these things, O son, do not seek,' so that you are always wanting to hear something new, for it is enough to know what is needful. 2 In the third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'What God has commanded you, think on these things always, and do not be curious about His many works.' 3 And there is a twofold reason for this admonition: because the pursuit of such curiosity is both endless and burdensome. That it is interminable, he then says here: 'Of making many books there is no end.' Because the curious shall never have everything, since they wish to hear more, because they will not listen to old things, but must always have new things, whence it is said in the seventeenth chapter of Acts: 'The men of Athens have leisure for nothing but to to say or hear something new.' 4 And it is said in the twelfth chapter of Daniel: 'Much time will pass and knowledge shall be multiplied,' 5 because knowledge is always being renewed in a certain way. Then that this inquisitive curiosity is not only interminable but burdensome, he adds: 'And frequent meditation is a weariness of the flesh.' In the thirty first chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Watchfulness for wealth wearies the flesh.' 6 And it is a grave affliction, I say, but on the contrary it is moderation that is useful, according to which it was said previously in the eighth chapter: 'There is a man who for days and nights does not allow sleep to come to his eyes. And I understood that no man is able to find the reason for the works of God which are beneath the sun.' 7 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 1 Eccles 12.12 2 Acts 17.21, Lk 10.42 3 Sirach 3.22 4 Acts 17.21 5 Dan 12.4 6 Sirach 31.1 7 Eccl 8.16-17

Difficulties Of Understanding

Arduum enim et difficillimum homini est, per se ipsum vel per saeculi doctores rationem praeceptorum coelestium consequi: nec naturae nostrae recipit infirmitas, divinis institutis, nisi per ejus gratiam qui haec ipsa dederit, erudiri. Namque qui simpliciter ea quae inter manus sibi inciderint legunt, existimant nihil differentiae in verbis, nihil in nominibus, nihil in rebus existere. Sed si istud communis colloquii sermo non patitur, ut sub diversis rerum nuncupationibus non diversa significata esse intelligantur; numquid Dei eloquia tam imperita, tam confusa esse credimus, ut? aut inopia verborum quibus uterentur laboraverint, aut distinctionum genera nescierint? Plures enim cum audient legem, justificationem, praecepta, testimonia, judicia, quae omnia Moyses sub diversa uniuscujusque generis virtute disposuit, unum atque isdem esse existimant: ignorantes aliud legem, aliud justificationem, aliud praeceptum, aliud testimonium, aliud esse judicium: quae multum a se differre et discrepare, testis nobis octavus decimus psalmus, quo continetur proprietas uniuscujusque et nuncupationis et generis. Lex, enim, Domini immaculata, convertens animas. Testimonium Domini fidele, erudiens parvulos. Justitiae Domini rectae, laetificatnes corda. Praeceptum Domini lucidum, illuminans oculos. Timor Domini sanctus, permanens in saeculum saeculi. Judicia Domini vera, justificata in ipsum. Sunt ergo distantiae in singulis quibusque rebus: et prudentis atque intelligentis viri est, in his quae scripta sunt discernere, ubi lex, ubi praeceptum, ubi testimonium, ubi justificationes, ubi judicia constituta sint: ne illa quae sermo propheticus mirabili uniuscujusque rei proprietate distinxit, ea ignorantiae nostrae infirmitas indocata imperitiae opinione confundat. Itaque per litteras singulas haec omnia maximus et ultra caerteros copiosissimus psalmus iste discrevit: ut per haec verborum elementa, credenti et vivendi et erudiendi in Dominum doctrinae ratio et distinctio doceretur Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum XVIII Source: Migne PL 9.501c-502b

It is arduous and most difficult for a man to grasp the understanding of the heavenly commandments by himself or by the use of secular teachers, for the weakness of our nature is not receptive to the instruction of the Divine institutes, unless through the grace of Him who gave them. For they who simply read these things which fall into their hands, they judge there to be no difference in words, nothing in names, nothing in things. But if common speech allows that in different ways of speaking different meanings can be understood, shall we think that the words of God are so very inept and confused, that either they were labouring in the employment of a poverty of words, or they did not know types of distinction? But many when they hear a law, a justification, a precept, a testimony, a judgement, all which Moses arranged skillfully under different and specific classes, they judge them to be one and the same, ignorant that a law is one thing, a justification another, a precept another, a testimony another, and a judgement another. Which great difference and separation the eighteenth Psalm gives witness to, in which is contained each one's special character, pronouncement and class. It says: 'The Law of the Lord is flawless, converting souls. The testimony of the Lord is faithful educating little ones. The justifications of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The teaching of the Lord enlightens, illuminating the eye. The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring forever. The judgements of the Lord are true, justified in Him. ' 1 Therefore each one differs in its function, and it is for the prudent and sensible man to discern in what is written what is set down as a law, a precept, a testimony, a justification, a judgement, lest the wondrous prophetic word which has distinguished each one with its own special character is confounded by the weakness of our ignorance in the uneducated opinion of inexperience. Thus with each letter, this Psalm most rich even beyond the others, has distinguished all of these, and through the elements of the words, the reason and distinction of the teaching of the Lord is was taught for believing and living and learning. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 18 1 Ps 18.8-10

Prayer And Understanding

Tὰς ὁδούς σου Kύριε γνώρισόν μοι καὶ τὰς τρίβους σου δίδαξόν με, ὁδήγησόν με ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου καὶ δίδαξόν με ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ σωτήρ μου καὶ σὲ ὑπέμεινα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν Ἐγὼ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ἰκετεύω τὰς σὰς ὁδοὺς διαγνῶναι, καὶ τὰς πρός με φερούσας τρίβους μαθεῖν, ὥστε δινηεκῶς τὴν ἀπλανῆ σου καὶ ἀληθῆ πορείαν ὁδεύειν. Ἔπειτα δι' αὐτῶν ἰκετεύω τῶν πραγμάτων μαθεῖν, ὅτι Σωτὴρ ὑπάρχεις ἐμός· τὴν γὰρ παρὰ σοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν προσμένω διηνεκῶς. Τὸ γὰρ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀεὶ τέθεικεν· καὶ διδάξαι βούλεται, ὡς οὐ νῦν μεν τὰύτην ἔχει τὴν γνώμην, νῦν δὲ ἑτέραν ἀντὶ ταύτης εἰσδέχεται. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΔ’ Source: Migne PG 80.1037a

Make your ways known to me, O Lord, and teach me your paths, lead me to your truth and teach me that you are God my Saviour, for you I wait all day long. 1 First I pray that I might know your ways and learn the paths which lead me to you, so that I might always and without delusion truly travel on the way. Then I pray to you that I might learn what it means for you to be my Saviour, for I am always expecting your mercy. And this 'all day long' is put here for 'always,' for he wishes to teach that he does not have this understanding at one time and a different one at another time. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 24 1 Ps 24.4-5

Wonder And Teaching

Et mirabantur Judaei... Hic tangitur secundum, scilicet Judaeorum admiratio. Ratio admirationis erat, sicut dicit Augustinus, quod nunquam viderant eum literas dicentem, audiebant autem de lege disputantem; propter quod dicitur: Et mirabuntur Judaei dicentes: Quomodo hic literas scit, cum non didicerit? Unde poterat Dominus dicere illud Prov. trigesimo: Sapientiam non didici, et novi scientiam Sanctorum. Luc. secundo: Stupebant autem omnes, qui eum audiebant, super prudentia et responsis ejus. Respondit eis Jesus, et dixit: Mea doctrina... Hic ponitur tertium, scilicet Christi responsio, qua admirationi eroum satisfacit, ostendens se non habere scientiam per acquisitionem, sicut habent alii homines; sed a sua origine, propter quod dicit: Mea doctrina, scilicet quam doceo, non est mea, id est, a me, vel ad meam gloriam, vel a me acquisita, sed ejus, qui misit me, id est, a Patre, qui misit me; omnia enim, quae habet Filius, a Patre accipit, supra quinto: Non potest Filius a se facere quidquam, nisi quod viderit Patrem facientem, ita nec docere quemquam. Et quia haec responsio manifesta non est nisi his, qui recte audiunt, et hi sunt qui audiunt, ut faciant, propterea dicit: Si quis voluerit voluntatem ejus, scilicet Dei Patris, facere, cognscet de doctrina, utrum ex Deo fit, an ego a me ipso loquar; quia aliter nec me, nec doctrinam meam potest cognoscere vere. Ideo dicitur primae Joan. secundo: Qui dicit se Deum nosse, et mandata ejus non custodit, mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est. Et sic doctrine Christi est commendabilis ab origine. Est etiam commendabilis a fine in hoc quod in docendo non quaerit gloriam propriam. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VII Source: Here, p717-718

And the Jews were amazed... 1 Here he touches on the second part, that is, the wonder of the Jews. The reason for the amazement was, as Augustine says, that they had never seen anyone teach Him, but then they heard him disputing on the Law, 2 on account of which it is said: 'And the Jews were amazed, saying, 'How does this man have his learning when He was not taught?' Whence the Lord could have spoken that passage in the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs: 'I knew no learning and I had the knowledge of the holy.' 3 And in the second chapter of Luke: 'All who heard Him were astonished at His wisdom and His replies.' 4 Jesus answered them, saying, 'My teaching...' Here he sets down the third part, that is the reply of Christ, which stirs up their wonder, showing Him not to have knowledge by acquisition, as other men have, but from His origin, on account of which He says: 'My teaching,' that is, what I teach, 'is not my own,' that is, from me, or for my own glory, or acquired by me, 'but it is of Him who sent me,' that is, the Father, who sent me. For everything which the Son has, He has received from the Father, as in chapter five of this Gospel: 'The Son is not able to do anything of Himself, unless what He sees the Father doing,' 5 and thus not to teach anything. And because this answer was not given for anyone but those who hear rightly,  those who hear that they might do, because of this He says: 'If someone would do His will,' That is, of God The Father, 'he will know if this teaching is from God, or if I speak from myself.' Because otherwise neither me nor my teaching can be truly known. Therefore it is said in the second chapter of the first letter of John: 'He who says he knows God and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.' 6 And thus the teaching of Christ is commendable by its origin, and again it is commendable by its end, in that in teaching He does not seek His own glory. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 7 1 Jn 7.15 2 August Tract On John 29.2 3 Prov 30.3, but here the Vulgate rather asserts ignorance of the knowledge of the holy, and the Hebrew the same. The Septuagint has God teaching him learning and knowledge of the holy. 4 Lk 2.47 5 Jn 5.19 6 1 Jn 2.4

Wisdom's Mixing

Κρατῆρα λόγων, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία, ὦ φιλομαθέστατε, τὰς θείας ἐκέρασε Γραφὰς, κρατῆρα, οὐ μέλιτος, οὐ γάλακτος, οὐκ οἴνου, ἀλλὰ παιδείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας πεπληρωμένον, καὶ θείοις χαρίσμασιν ἐστεμμένον, ὅστις τοὺς χρωμένους εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν προτρέπει, τῶν μὲν ἐπιγείων ἀμελεῖν παρασκευάζων, τῶν δὲ οὐρανίων εἴσω χωρεῖν· κρατῆρα, οὐ μεθόδους περιέχοντα, οὐδὲ σοφίσμτα, οὐδὲ φυσιολογίας ἀτόμους καὶ ἀπείριος, ἀλλ' ἔργα ἀνδρῶν ὀνομαστοτάτων καὶ ἐνδοξοτάτων, οἶς ὅμοια καὶ πράττων καὶ λέγων, ἀρετῆς κόσμον ἔξεις. Ἀλλ' οὐδε τῶν πταισάντων τοὺς βίους καὶ τὰς τιμωρίας ἀπεσιώτησαν· ὅπως μαθὼν, τὰ μὲν καλὰ ἔχιος, εἰ θέλοις, ζηλοῦν· τὰ δὲ φαῦλα, φεύγειν. Ὅσον μὲν οὖν χρήσιμον εἰς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίαν ἐκ τῆς ἐξωθεν παιδεύσεως, ὥσπερ ἡ μέλιττα, δρεψάμενος, πολλὰ γὰρ, εἰ γὰρ τὰληθῆ λέγειν, ἀρετῆς ἔνεκεν πεφιλοσοφήκασι, τὸ λοιπὸν ἄπαν χαίρειν ἔα· μάλιστα ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς κατ' ἀλλήλων διαπρύσιον κεκινηκότας πόλεμον. Ἀριστοτέλης μὲν γὰρ ἐπανέστη Πλάτωνι· οἱ Στωϊκοὶ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτον ἐφράξαντο. Τοῖς δὲ θείοις χρησμοῖς διὰ βίου δίδου σαυτόν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνων καὶ ἐκ τούτων ὠφελούμενος, μέγὰ καὶ σαυτῷ καὶ πᾶσιν ἔσῇ χρῆμα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ βούλε τί ἐστιν, Ἐκέρασεν ἡ σοφία τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον, καὶ δι' ἤν αἰτίαν, οὐκ ἄκρατον αὐτὸν προϋθηκε, μάνθανε δι' ὀλίγων πολλά· Τὰ θεϊα καὶ ὑπερφυῆ παιδεύματα, λόγοις καὶ παραδείγμασι σωματικοῖς ἐκέρασεν. Οὐ γὰρ οἷον τε ἦν ἡμᾶς ἄλλως νοῆσαι. Τὴν γοῦν ἔνωσιν τῶν θείων νοημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐπιγείων λόγων, κρᾶσιν οὐκ ἀπεικότως ἐκάλεσε. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ Γ’ Τιμοθεῳ Αναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.457b-460a

The bowl of words, O lover of learning, which the wisdom of God mixes is the Divine Scriptures, a bowl, I say, not full with honey or milk or wine but with teaching and philosophy, and garnished with Divine grace, which things are used to exhort to virtue and piety, and prepare us to neglect the things of the world, and to seek the things of heaven. It is not a bowl, I say, of sophistry and deceit, nor of the absurd and interminable investigations of natures, but the deeds of most celebrated and most famous men. Which if you imitate with your actions and your words, you shall adorn yourself with virtue. But the lives and punishments of the wicked are not wrapped in silence, that learning of them it might please you to adhere to good things and fly from what is vile. As much as there is anything beneficial to be gathered up in other learning, so much it leads to our philosophy, for often, if we speak truly, they philosophised over virtue, but bid farewell to the rest, certainly seeing that they are the cause of endless combats with one another. Even Aristotle made attacks on Plato, and again the Stoics take up arms against him. Give yourself to the Divine oracles for your whole life. For if from these and from those, you take up what is useful, it will be great to you and beneficial to all. Since this is what is wished with, 'Wisdom has mixed her wine,' 1 and for this reason, that it not be beyond our capability. With few words receive much. So she mixes the teaching of the Divine and high nature with corporeal words and examples. For it was not possible that we could understand in any other way. Whence the joining of Divine thoughts with earthly words is not unreasonably called mixing. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 3, to Timotheus the Lector

Basic Learning

Commendi sunt fideles ut generaliter omnes, a minimo usque ad maximum, orationem Dominicam et symbolum discant; et dicendum eis, quod in his duabas sententiis omne fidei Christianae fundamentum incumbit, et nisi quis has duas sententias et memoriter tenuerit, et ex toto corde crediderit, et in oratione saepissime frequentaverit, catholicus esse non poterit. Constitutum namque est ut nullus chrismetur, neque baptizetur, neque a lavacro fontis illius suscipiatur, neque coram episcopo ad confirmandum quemlibet teneat, nisi symbolum et orationem Dominicam memoriter tenuerit, exceptis his quos ad loquendum aetas minime perduxit. Theodulfus Aurelianensis, Capitula ad Presbyteros Parochiae Suae, Capitula XXII Source: Migne PL 105.198a-b

The faithful are to be exhorted, that is, all in general, from the least to the greatest, that they should learn the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed, and let it be told to them that in these two works is found the complete foundation of the Christian faith, and unless someone commits these two works to his memory, and believes them with his whole heart, and frequently takes to them in prayer, he cannot be a Catholic. For it is established that no one is to be anointed, nor baptised, nor shall he receive cleansing from the font, nor shall anyone be allowed confirmation by the Bishop, unless he holds in his memory the Apostles' Creed and the Our Father, excepting those whose age utterly precludes the articulation of them. Theodulf of Orleans, Chapters For His Local Priests, Chapter 22

Advancing In Understanding

Quapropter si vobis cura est ad spiritalis scientiae lumen, non inanis iactantiae vitio, sed emundationis gratia pervenire, illius primum beatitudinis cupiditate flammamini, de qua dictum est: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt; ut etiam ad illam de qua angelus ad Danielem ait pervenire possitis: Qui autem docti fuerint, fulgebunt sicut splendor firmamenti; et qui ad iustitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates; et in alio propheta: Illuminate vobis lumen scientiae dum tempus est. Tenentes itaque illam quam habere vos sentio diligentiam lectionis, omni studio festinate actualem, id est, ethicam, quam primum ad integrum comprehendere disciplinam Absque hac namque illa quam diximus theoretica puritas non potest apprehendi, quam hi tantum, qui non aliorum docentium verbis, sed propriorum actuum virtute perfecti sunt, post multa operum ac laborum stipendia, iam quasi in praemio consequuntur. Non enim a meditatione legis intelligentiam, sed de fructu operis acquirentes, cum Psalmographo canunt: A mandatis tuis intellexi. Et excoctis passionibus universis, fiducialiter dicunt: Psallam et intelligam in via immaculata. Ille enim psallens intelligit quae canuntur, qui in via immaculata gressu puri cordis innititur. Et idcirco si scientiae spiritali sacrum in corde vestro vultis tabernaculum praeparare, ab omnium vos vitiorum contagione purgate, et curis saeculi praesentis exuite. Impossibile namque est animam quae mundanis vel tenuiter distentionibus occupatur, donum scientiae promereri, vel generatricem spiritualium sensuum, aut tenacem sacrarum lectionum fieri. Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, Collationes, Collatio XIV, De Spirituli Scientia, Caput IX, Quod de actuali scientia proficiatur ad spiritalem Source: Migne PL 49.965b-966b

Whence if you have care to come to the light of spiritual knowledge, but not for the fault of empty boasting, but for the sake of being cleansed, first be inflamed with the desire for that blessedness concerning which it was said: 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,' 1 so that you might even achieve what the angel said to Daniel: 'But they who are learned shall shine as the splendor of the firmament, and they who instruct many to righteousness as stars forever and ever.' 2 And in another prophet: 'Enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge while there is time.' 3 And so keeping to that diligence in reading which I know that you have, hasten with all eagerness to gain first a comprehensive grasp of practical, that is, ethical, discipline. For without this that theoretical purity which we have spoken of cannot be obtained, which only those who are perfected acquire as reward, and not by the words of others who teach, but by the virtue of their own actions, and after much expenditure of effort and toil. For gaining knowledge not from meditation on the law but from the fruit of their own labour, they sing with the Psalmist: 'By your commandments I have understood.' 4 And having overcome all the passions, they confidently say: 'I will sing, and I will understand in the immaculate way.' 5 For as he sings, he understands what he sings who in the immaculate way is striving with the step of a pure heart. And therefore if you wish to prepare in your heart a holy tabernacle of spiritual knowledge, purge yourself from the infection of all sins and strip off the cares of the present world. For it is impossible for the soul which is occupied even lightly with worldly concerns to merit the gift of knowledge, or to become  a spiritual interpreter, or to be diligent in the reading of holy things. Saint John Cassian, Conferences, Conference 14, On Spiritual Knowledge, Chapter 9, How one advances from practical knowledge to spiritual knowledge 1 Mt 5.8 2 Dan 12.3 3 Hosea 10.12 4 Ps 118.104 5 Ps 100.2

A Warning Regarding Books

Scolastici vero tam docentes quam addiscentes, ammonendi sunt de artificioso studio in libris, prout ait Seneca epistola ii. Distrahit librorum multitudo, itaque cum legere non possis quantum habueris, satis est habere quantum legas. Sed meo inquis: hunc librum evoluere volo, meo illum, fastidientis stomachi est multum degustare, que vero varia sunt et diversa, inquinant non alunt probatos itaque semper lege, et siquando ad alteros diveretere libuerit, ad priores redi. Moneat ergo ut fiat diligens inspectio, et inspectorum impressa rememoratio, unde idem epistola xlvi: Non refert quam multos sed quam bonos habeas libros, lectio certa prodest, varia delectat, multitudo enim librorum onerat, non instruit, et satius est, paucis auctoribus te tradere, quam errare per multos xl. enim milia librorum Allexandriae arserunt et cetera. Cum ergo innumerabiles sunt libro, non potest homo pervenire ad ominum inspectionem. Studeas igitur in autenticis et utilibus, non enim est finis faciendi libros, Ecclesiastici xxi. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Quinta Pars, Distinctio Secunda, Capitulum secundum: Qulaes libros habere debent studentes Source: here, p202

However scholars, who are as much teachers as learners, have been warned against a false study of books, as Seneca says in his second letter, 'A multitude of books distracts, so if you cannot read all the books you have, you have enough when you have the books you can read. But if you should say to me, 'I wish to open this book at one time and another at another time.' I say that it is a fussy stomach that tastes many dishes, and when they are quite various and diverse they upset rather than nourish. Always read proven authors, and if at some time it pleases you to turn to different ones, go back to what you have read before.' 1 Therefore he admonishes that there should be a diligent inspection and the impressing of remembrance on those who read, whence he says in his forty sixth letter: 'It matters not if you have many books but rather if they are good ones. Sure reading improves, variety merely amuses.' 1 A multitude of books oppresses, it does not instruct. It is better to make use of a few authors than to err with many. In the fortieth letter: 'A thousand books of Alexandria burnt, etc.' 3 Therefore, when there are countless books, no man is able to give them all his full attention. So study what is true and profitable, for 'of making books there is no end.' 4 John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Fifth Part, Second Distinction, Second Chapter, What Books One Should Have For Study 1 Seneca Epis 2.3-4 2 Seneca Epis 45.1 3 Seneca Tranq Anim 9 4 Eccles 21.12

The Hearers

Πᾶν ῥῆμα Χριστοῦ ἔλεον, καὶ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ σοφίαν ἐμφαινει Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν τούτων δύναμιν διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐμβάλλει τοῖς ἠδέως ἀκούουσιν. Ὅθεν οἱ ἀνελεήμονες, καὶ ἄδικοι, ἀηδῶς ἀκουοντες τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίαν, γνῶμαι οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν· ἀλλὰ καὶ λαλοῦντες ἐσταύρωσαν. Καὶ ἡμεῖς οὖν ἶδωμεν εἰ ἡδέως αὐτοῦ ἀκούομεν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ εἴρηκεν· Ὁ ἀγαπῶν με τὰς ἐντολάς μου τηρήσει, καὶ ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός μου κὰγὼ ἀγαπήσω αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐμφαίνσω αὐτῷ ἑμαυτόν. Βλέπεις, πῶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐμφάνειαν ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς ἐνέκρυψε; Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.964a

Every word of Christ shows the mercy and righteousness and wisdom of God, and by hearing their power passes into those who gladly hear. Whence the merciless and unrighteous are unwilling hearers and unable to know the wisdom of God, but rather word of it torments. Thus it is for us to look to whether we hear Him willingly. For He himself said, 'He who loves me, he will keep my commandments, and he will be loved by my Father and I shall love him, and I shall show myself to him.' 1 You see how His showing is hidden in His commandments? Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Jn 14.21

Appearances And Deeds

Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχοντι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύματι προβάτου, ἔνδοθεν δέ εἰσι λύκοι ἄρπαγες· ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς. Ἐὰν οὖν, τινα ἴδῇς, ἀδελφὲ, ὅτι ἔχει σχῆμα σεμνοπρεπὲς, μὴ πρόσχῃς, ὅτι ἑνδέδυται κώδιον προβάτου, ὅτι ὄνομα ἔχει πρεσβυτέρου, ἤ ἐπισκόπου, ἤ διακόνου, ἢ ἀσκητοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὰς πράξεις αὐτοῦ περιέργασαι· εἰ ἔστι σώφρων, εἰ ἔστι φιλόξενος, ἤ ἐλεήμων, ἤ ἀγαπητικὸς, ἤ ἐν προσευχαῖς καρτερικὸς, ἢ ὑπομονητικός. Εἰ ἔχει κοιλίαν Θεὸν, καὶ τὸν φάρυγγα ᾅδην, νοσῶν χρήματα, καὶ καπηλεύων τὴν θεοσέβειαν, ἄφες αὐτόν· οὐ γάρ ἐστι ποιμὴν ἐπιστημονικὸς, ἀλλὰ λύκος ἀρπακτικός. Εἰ δὲ οἶδας τὰ δένδρα δοκιμάζειν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν, ποῖὰ ἐστι τῄ φύσει, τῄ γεύσει, τῄ πιότητι· πολλῷ μᾶλοον ἀπὸ τῶν ἐργῶν ὀφείλεις δοκιμάζειν τοὺς Χριστεμπόρος, ὅτι φοροῦντες φημάριον εὐλαβείας, ψυχὴν κέκτηνται διαβολικήν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν οὐ συλλέγεις σταφυλὰς, ἤ ἀπὸ τριβόλων σὺκα, τί ὑπολαμβάνεις, ὅτι ἀπὸ παραβατῶν ἔχεις τι ἀγαθὸν ἀκοῦσαι, ἢ ἀπὸ προδοτῶν μαθεῖν τι χρήσιμον; Ἐκείνους τοίνυν ἀποστρέφου ὡς λύκους Ἀραβικοὺς, καὶ ἀκάνθος παρακοῆς, καὶ τριβόλους ἀδικημάτων, καὶ δένδρα πονηρά. Ἐὰν ἴδῇς συνετὸν, κατὰ τὴν συμβουλεύουσαν σοφίαν, ὄρθριζε πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ σταθμοὺς θυρῶν αὐτοῦ ἐκτριβέτω ὁ ποῦς σου, ἴνα παρ' αὐτοῦ διδαχθῇς νόμου σκιαγραφήματα, καὶ χαρίτων δωρήματα. Οὔτε δὲ λόγος σοφιστικὸς, ἤ σχῆμα ἐπιθετικὸν εἰσάγουσιν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλὰ πίστις τελεία καὶ ἀπερίεονος μετὰ τῆς ἐναρέτου καὶ διαλαμπούσης προνοίας. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Περὶ Ψευδοπροφητῶν Source: Migne PG 26.1253b-d

The Lord says: 'Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing and within they are ravening wolves. From their fruits you will know them.' 1 If, therefore, brother, you see someone who is clothed in garb befitting a pious man, beware, even if he is covered with the vestment of a sheep, and has the name of priest, or bishop, or deacon, or ascetic, but carefully enquire about his deeds, if he is temperate, if he is hospitable, or merciful, or charitable, if he is one who endures in prayer and suffering. If he has god for his belly, 2 hell lodged in his throat, and labours in the sickness of the acquirement of riches, and makes a trade of holiness, be rid of him, for he is not an experienced shepherd, but a ravening wolf. If our trees are proved by the fruit, by their nature, their taste, their size, so much more from works should you know them who employ Christ for worldly profit, they who, choosing a famine of sanctity, fashion a demonic soul. If grapes are not collected from thorns, nor figs from thistles, why do you think you will be able to hear anything good from the words of sinners, or learn something useful from traitors? Be averse to them as to Arabian wolves, and likewise to the thorns of disobedience, and the thistles of unrighteousness, and bad trees. But if you see someone wise, according to the counsel of Wisdom, rise early for him, and plant your foot at the door of his house, that from him you might learn about the shadows of the Law and the gifts of grace. It is not clever speech and solemn dress that allows one to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but perfect faith, and a lack of distraction, with virtuous and pure prudence. Saint Athanasius, A Fragment On False Prophets 1 Mt 7.15 2 Philip 3.19